Preferably satin. But if you prefer the more matte appearance then you could customize with sheens: Satin for colors that qualify as slightly above mid-value and below. Eggshell for darker color - because as a general rule darker colors will show as if they have more sheen than lighter colors. Best quality 100% acrylic satin exterior does indeed clean, wear, and look better long-term. I don't like shiny either. Much prefer matte finishes - but that's interior. When it comes to exterior, sometimes you gotta put function before aesthetics and gloss levels might be one of those times. Personally, satin exterior doesn't bother me near as much as it does interior. It's just doesn't have the same affect and isn't as significant or noticeable, IMO. Much more gloss than a satin -- like a semi for exterior on body or trim -- isn't where folks wanna go either. Satin or an eggshell that's heavy on the sheen are good choices.

I've painted my house twice now with satin. I am sure it wears better than paint with less sheen that I had on another home. Repels dirt better too, rinses off with hose better, repels water better so should last longer. With white I think the sheen would be less noticeable. I went with a darker color and different (from gray to medium grayish beige) in satin on the second painting and reflecting light makes it look a lighter color, kind of. It's only more noticeable, kind of, where there is no shade from any trees and get full direct sun, it was also the area that started losing the sheen of the first painting. Anyone that has noticed that I used satin really likes it and say they would probably use satin next time they paint. If there are any imperfections from the hail you are probably the only one who will notice it. No one else is going to scrutinize it like you will. Regarding light colors and imperfections. A friend who used to restore old cars said light colors hide imperfections better than dark colors.

You bet it will…I always paint my exterior in a low sheen. It weathers over time, but, in the meantime, it seems resistant to the weather wear and hoses down great after pollen season.

Thanks Lori, I know others mentioned this. I guess I was thinking that with how far paints have come technology wise with color retention and fade resistance that they would hold on to their sheen better too. Maybe people just get over it more than the actual sheen dissipating but what do I know as I've only painted 1 house before and that was many, many years ago. I have been by some recent housing developments in the area and they still look pretty shiny. There is a house several blocks away who painted their house in Seattle Seahawks colors. The blue looks to be SW Naval along with green and gray accents and it is s shiny as the day they did it about 3 years ago and a few houses away another house that was painted a navy blue (maybe Hale Navy) last fall and it is still shiny although not as much as the Seahawk house. I guess that is what is giving me pause as Hale Navy is an intense color. But they may have used satin instead of low lustre. I thought the hardest part was choosing the color. With my gray roof and concrete driveway and river rock I was afraid to pick a gray color as their would be no contrast. We tried Gentlemens gray which is a beautiful color but it felt a little to intense teal color to me although my husband saw it more as gray and I've heard other people read it as navy. Funny how different people perceive color differently. Tried spellbound too because I was trying to find something mid range but just not finding it. At first I tried White Dove for the trim, gutters and garage door but it read way to yellow to me but SW Snowbound hit the sweet spot and matched the color of our vinyl windows. By the way the front of my house is usually not that bare. We have beautiful potted plants out front but I moved them to take a picture so I could upload it to BM and SW sight for color preview but it was so hard tracing window trim and gutters I gave up. I want to change out the light and get a new front door and put some proper trim around it and the garage door as I think that would help a lot for curb appeal. I loved this house that was from Fixer Upper because the color is cheerful but overtime I try to match the color its too aqua or too turquoise. Of course they don't say what color it is :( I will say Hale Navy is a great neutral. I have a lot of directions I can go with as far as pops of color for potted plants, front door light, cushions on bench and greenery really pops against it. Anyway, thanks so much for your insight Lori. By the way, great website you have!